The book presents the first English edition of Hubertine Auclert's Arab Women in Algeria which
offers a unique picture of Algerian society in late 19th century. Hubertine Auclert (1848-1914)
was one of the foremost militants for women's political rights in France from the mid-1870s.
She lived in Algeria from 1888 to 1892 where she investigated the customs and traditions that
defined the condition of women. She witnessed both the exploitation of women and that of the
colonized people in doing so she drew a picture of colonial Algerian society. While women
were mistreated by men (sale of prepubescent girls into marriage forced marriage repudiation
permitted only to men polygamy) Arab men were mistreated by the colonial administration and
excluded from the government of Algeria. She denounced the contradictions and hypocrisy of
French justice which often enforced for their own interest the anomalies of Muslim law in
contradiction with French law.The last chapter of the book comprises of several striking
anecdotes that illustrate the author's theoretical views. Jacqueline Grenez Brovender is a
freelance translator and a former lecturer in French at Tufts University. Denise
Brahimi-Chapuis taught in French and Algerian universities about the relationship between
France and the Maghreb and its effect on women.
